96 Maxima - Check Engine Light

[Sam Adams]

For the 5th time in 6 months, my check engine light has come on. The car
has 63K miles, so because it's out of warranty I am getting very upset that
it costs me $85 for the dealer to check out the service code each time the
light comes on. My fear is that the dealer is ripping me off, not fixing
any problems, charging me $85 per visit and then waiting for me to come back
in 4 weeks to do it again. The engine is running just fine, but it concerns
me to drive it with the light on. Any suggestions?? Should I drive it like
it is? Will the light go off by itself?

Thanks

[Daniel B. Martin]

Your Engine Control Module (the computer) receives signals from various
sensors. It uses this data to control the ignition timing and fuel
injection. If any of the sensors sends a signal which is obviously wrong
(or sends no signal at all) the ECM says "I don't believe you. I'm going
to use a default value instead of your bogus signal. I'm going to store a
Trouble Code as a lasting record of your misbehavior. I'm also going to
turn on the Malfunction Indicator Lamp to warn the driver that something is
amiss."

The dealer was supposed to read out that Trouble Code, replace the defective
sensor, clear all stored Trouble Codes, charge you a modest fee for this
service, and send you on your way. Did the dealer fix anything?

Dan Martin
Nissan owner and D-I-Y mechanic

[Dana Spatz]

I have a 96 maxima too and received a recall notice concerning the check
engine light. Nissan conducted a Voluntary Service Campaign to replace
certain emission control parts AT NO CHARGE for either the parts or the
labor. The parts are front and rear oxygen sensors and vent control valve.
A water separator kit for the evaporative emission control system will also
be installed, and the vapor canister will be inspected and replaced if
necessary.

The recall notice said you can drive with the light on, but not above 45 mph

Sam Adams wrote in message ...

[Dana Spatz]

Here's a link to technical service bulletins for the 96 Maxima.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/servicemmy.cfm

[Andi Baritchi]

You can read the codes yourself..

see www.boostaholic.com/maxima/maxfaqs/ <-- goto powertrain/performance..

Sam Adams wrote:
>
> For the 5th time in 6 months, my check engine light has come on. The car
> has 63K miles, so because it's out of warranty I am getting very upset that
> it costs me $85 for the dealer to check out the service code each time the
> light comes on. My fear is that the dealer is ripping me off, not fixing
> any problems, charging me $85 per visit and then waiting for me to come back
> in 4 weeks to do it again. The engine is running just fine, but it concerns
> me to drive it with the light on. Any suggestions?? Should I drive it like
> it is? Will the light go off by itself?
>
> Thanks

--
Andi Baritchi
an...@airmail.net
http://web2.airmail.net/andi/

[NissTech]

well all this detail does not tell me a thing !

what codes were set?

I'll lay money that they were Evap. codes along the lines of
P0400 or P0440

Sam Adams wrote in message ...

[bugg...@my-deja.com]

Per the reply by <<Dana Spatz <Dana....@worldnet.att.net>>,
I too had same voluntary recall situations with my 96 Max. Oxygen
sensor was replaced ($0 charge), then later came the evaporative
control system recall.

Untit the second recall, no trouble with CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. But after
work was done, my car was in the shop 5 different days. The CHECK
ENGINE LIGHT would come on after 40 miles or more after getting
conclusion from dealer that they couldn't find anything wrong & just
resetting the light. Finally, mine & dealer's humor was gone....
Calls to factory engineers (or so the dealer said) gave reasons all the
way from "it just needs a new gas cap to hold the fuel system snug", to
"we just can't figure it out". Finally, they determined that there had
been ultra-slow vacuum leak in the evaporative control/cannister system,
& it turned out to be definitely related to the recall work done by
dealer. They had overtightened a couple of machine crews into the
plastic cannister housing. That caused ever-so-slight crack in the
plastic, and by backing off the screw a tiney bit, then some epoxy, wham
- problem went away. Electronics & sensors are pretty finicky.
All this after warranty ran out too - $0 charge. And after all that,
the new gas cap was on Nissan too!
I also had front springs replaced after warranty ran out(clunked in
certain "normal" driving situations). Now, 10K later & car with nearly
50K, car runs like a dream! Good luck. John K

In article <qD%p3.20$EU1...@news2.randori.com>,

"Sam Adams" <sa...@boston.com> wrote:
> For the 5th time in 6 months, my check engine light has come on. The
car
> has 63K miles, so because it's out of warranty I am getting very upset
that
> it costs me $85 for the dealer to check out the service code each time
the
> light comes on. My fear is that the dealer is ripping me off, not
fixing
> any problems, charging me $85 per visit and then waiting for me to
come back
> in 4 weeks to do it again. The engine is running just fine, but it
concerns
> me to drive it with the light on. Any suggestions?? Should I drive
it like
> it is? Will the light go off by itself?
>
> Thanks
>
>

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

[Keith Knowles]

I'd concur with all the comments regarding the emmissions control work. Had
the same problem at 60250. This happened prior to the recall and cost $800
in parts and labor. Despite all the updates to the components involved,
known problems with these specific issues, and the fact that the car was 250
miles out of warranty, Nissan handled the problem extremely poorly. No one
involved would admit that there in fact was a reliability problem. This is
posted as the #1 reliability problem for the Max on msn.carpoint. Finally,
Nissan graciously(and clearly let me know how unusuall this was) paid for
50% of the repairs. Funny how I never received a recall notice. Most of
all, I was extremely dissapointed with Nissan customer service and their
issue resolution.

Good luck

Sam Adams <sa...@boston.com> wrote in message
news:qD%p3.20$EU1...@news2.randori.com...

[bugg...@my-deja.com]

Another excellent resource for countering nissan's "sorry, but we can't
figure it out" answers can be found at
<http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/>. Is a government website that
lists all known recall and technical service bulletins on any
make/model. That's where I was successful in convincing nissan that
they also knew of bad springs, which till then, they claimed were fine.

good luck.

In article <7og2d3$5c1$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,

> > For the 5th time in 6 months, my check engine light has come on.
The
> car
> > has 63K miles, so because it's out of warranty I am getting very
upset
> that
> > it costs me $85 for the dealer to check out the service code each
time
> the
> > light comes on. My fear is that the dealer is ripping me off, not
> fixing
> > any problems, charging me $85 per visit and then waiting for me to
> come back
> > in 4 weeks to do it again. The engine is running just fine, but it
> concerns
> > me to drive it with the light on. Any suggestions?? Should I drive
> it like
> > it is? Will the light go off by itself?
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> >
>